The Family Connection
Family ministry is not merely professionals "doing unto" families. More importantly, it is families ministering to one another in all kinds of ways. If they are to live the Christian life, families need other families. Parishes need strong Christian families because without them parishes are empty of life and meaning. Families need parishes because no family can live the Christian life on isolation. Each little faith community (family) must be involved in some form of shared service. It is this shared service to others that bonds families to one another. It is this shared meeting of the needs of others that builds community.
Ours is a sacramental world, full of tangible signs showing us Christ and giving us grace. A big part of passing on a living faith to our children is to help them see their world as filled with objects that reveal God in all the divine manifestations. Then when they go to church and the bread is held up and the wine is poured, they'll be accustomed to seeing miracles right before their very eyes.
(Raising Faith-Filled Kids by Tom McGrath)
